Poison & Wine//A BBC Sherlock fanfic

Then

Then

Those last few weeks in London for Cosette were tainted grey with the bitterness of her separation from Sherlock. She hadn't spoken to him since that day in the hospital but knew he was fine due to the fact that she had seen him around the University. He hung around in the shadows, always at the edges of her peripheral vision. She ignored him, though, walking past him with her head held high and her eyes staring straight ahead. Although she gave him the cold shoulder part of her missed him and wanted him back. She missed his company. Before Sherlock Cosette's life had been faded in color, bearable and livable but missing something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Then he had appeared out of nowhere, painting her world with vibrant colors and making it look so much brighter and better than before. They had conversations that could stretch on for hours and when he laughed it was like she was discovering something new and extraordinary. They fitted into each other's lives so easily, like two puzzle pieces coming together to create a beautiful picture. She felt like her life was more enhanced with him in it. And then...

And then just as fast as he had come into it, he was gone from her world, taking all the colors with him. Now her world wasn't faded in color, it was completely black and white. That enhanced feeling was gone, a piece of her was missing. All because of one broken promise. She couldn't believe that was all it took to wreak something so magical. One night, one broken promise, and suddenly everything came tumbling down.
He had picked his path, though, and she hers. In the end they weren't compatible enough. So the weeks went by and suddenly Cosette found herself back in France.

Her parents had welcomed her back joyfully, telling her how much she had been missed those three months. They- along with her friends- had wanted to know everything about her time in England. She had told them everything: the good, the bad, the ugly, and... Sherlock. Although her friends had been surprised about the fact that Cosette had become best pals with an ex-junkie (well, not ex anymore), and her parents had been quite shocked, they didn't say anything. Perhaps they picked up on the look in Cosette's eyes whenever she talked about him; the sadness that swam inside her golden eyes along with the pity. They never said a word about the British man who had befriended- then betrayed- Cosette, hoping that in due time she would get out of the slump she was in.

They were right. It took a few months but soon Cosette was back to her old self. It was as though Sherlock never existed and those around her were happy. They never found out about the fact that sometimes Cosette would walk around the Science block of her University just to feel closer to Sherlock. They never found out about how sometimes Cosette would purposely inhale the second hand smoke of smoking passerby's just so she could imagine it was Sherlock smoking by her. They never found out that Cosette had brought herself a men's letterman jacket from a second hand store just so she could pretend that it was Sherlock's and he had left it at her house when he had come to visit. They never found out just how much he had affected her and they never would.
Still, though, she moved on, even with these habits of hers. That process of moving on was all due to a man she had met while in a cafe looking over some notes from class.

"Hello," the man said, standing by her table. Cosette lifted her golden eyes up his dark blue ones, lips parted in slight surprise. He was tall and tanned and very handsome, with shoulder length wavy dark brown hair and full lips. Cosette could feel the heat rising up her neck and blossoming on her cheeks. He must've noticed this because he grinned bashfully, looking down at his feet for a moment.

"Oh, um, h-hello," Cosette replied, mentally cursing herself for being so awkward in front of such a handsome stranger. He looked at her again, a shy look on his face when he asked if he could sit with her. Without hesitation Cosette nodded (probably a little too eagerly), causing the man to chuckle softly. Cosette could feel her heartbeat rising, her gaze on the man who had already managed to captivate her so.

"Are you studying?" he asked, gesturing towards her notes.

"Yes. Well, trying to. I'm not having much luck," she replied, earning a light-hearted laugh from the man which made her heart jump in her chest.

"Are you a student at the University around the corner?"

"Yes, I'm studying history."

"Really? How funny. I work at the museum down the road. I take care of the world war one and two section of the museum."

"Wow, that's great," Cosette said, her interest in the man spiking now that she knew he shared an interest in history. Remembering herself she held out a hand, staring into his dark blue eyes and feeling like her heart was going to flutter away. "I'm Cosette Bellamy."

"Dorian Brasseur," he replied, shaking her hand. There seemed to be a shock of electricity pass between the pair because suddenly Cosette found the area around her a little bit bright, drenched in more color than before. Dorian seemed to feel the same because he blinked rapidly before locking eyes with her, laughing softly.

"Well, Cosette. I'm very glad to meet you," he murmured, a small smile on his face. Cosette returned it, staring into her future, unaware of how much her life would change from that moment onwards.

At the time, though, Cosette didn't think about anyone but Dorian, and even Sherlock was out of her mind for awhile. She found out so much about Dorian, like how he was put up a year at school so was able to attended University earlier, and how he had passed Uni with flying colors in History and English. She found out about his favorite color (a dark green), his favorite movie (Dracula), and his favorite animal (birds, or more specifically, pigeons, which Cosette found both interesting and humorous). It wasn't until she returned home that night with Dorian's number saved in her phone that she realized how different her world was now. She had regained the things she thought she had lost when she had said goodbye to Sherlock: the color, the light, the happiness and the fullness in her life. Everything had been restored due to a chance meeting with a man who had managed to make her forget about Sherlock for a moment.

Perhaps, she thought as she pulled the covers over her tired body that night. Perhaps it's time to put Sherlock away, to leave him in the past and try to carry on with my life. Perhaps it's time to try again with someone new.

And that is what she did.

Author Note: Short chapter due to how long the other one was. There are only three more chapters until the end, so stay tuned my lovelies